3.8 Reporting the Results (Step 3)

As soon as a Diagnosis is complete, you can see a summary of the results and generate a report. For more information, see Section 5.0, Understanding Results.

Click the Report tab to enter the Report view.

Report View Component	Description
Results table	Summarizes the call performance results of diagnostic tests run between the endpoints or, if your Diagnosis used phones, the call performance data collected from network devices. The Mean Opinion Score (MOS) is the overall estimation of VoIP call quality between the Target Devices. The remaining data shows how the MOS was derived, based on delay, jitter buffer loss, and lost data statistics. These statistics have been compared to the thresholds configured for each VoIP performance metric. The green, yellow, or red rating icons provide an instant sense of whether performance was acceptable. Any performance metrics gathered on the network are defined only as “issues” if they conform to the thresholds you set. For more information, see Section 3.5.5, Setting Thresholds and Section 5.2.1, Interpreting the Results Table. NOTE:In a Cisco environment for which no endpoints are available in the subnets where you are performing the Diagnosis, you will receive results for, at most, “Lost Data” and “Delay.” The same is not true for a Nortel environment. Even without endpoints, RTPStatShow can provide R-value and MOS. And if the Diagnosis was launched by an R-value trap event in AppManager, you will receive all expected VoIP metrics.
Diagnosis table	Summarizes any issues found to provide a Diagnosis of the problem. The severity icons provide quick identification of problem. The issues are sorted by severity (high to low). Network problems can include major issues, minor configuration problems, unstable routing, excessive router delays, and more. All discovered issues are accompanied by an explanation. For more information, see Section 5.2.2, Interpreting the Diagnosis Table.
Generate Reports	Offers two result formats: an HTML-formatted Report, and a Raw Data file in comma-separated values (CSV) format, suitable for a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel. For more information, see Section 3.8.1, Diagnosis HTML Report and Section 3.8.2, Raw Data File.

Report View Component

Description

Results table

Summarizes the call performance results of diagnostic tests run between the endpoints or, if your Diagnosis used phones, the call performance data collected from network devices. The Mean Opinion Score (MOS) is the overall estimation of VoIP call quality between the Target Devices. The remaining data shows how the MOS was derived, based on delay, jitter buffer loss, and lost data statistics. These statistics have been compared to the thresholds configured for each VoIP performance metric. The green, yellow, or red rating icons provide an instant sense of whether performance was acceptable.

Any performance metrics gathered on the network are defined only as “issues” if they conform to the thresholds you set. For more information, see Section 3.5.5, Setting Thresholds and Section 5.2.1, Interpreting the Results Table.

NOTE:In a Cisco environment for which no endpoints are available in the subnets where you are performing the Diagnosis, you will receive results for, at most, “Lost Data” and “Delay.” The same is not true for a Nortel environment. Even without endpoints, RTPStatShow can provide R-value and MOS. And if the Diagnosis was launched by an R-value trap event in AppManager, you will receive all expected VoIP metrics.

Diagnosis table

Summarizes any issues found to provide a Diagnosis of the problem. The severity icons provide quick identification of problem. The issues are sorted by severity (high to low). Network problems can include major issues, minor configuration problems, unstable routing, excessive router delays, and more. All discovered issues are accompanied by an explanation. For more information, see Section 5.2.2, Interpreting the Diagnosis Table.

Generate Reports

Offers two result formats: an HTML-formatted Report, and a Raw Data file in comma-separated values (CSV) format, suitable for a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel. For more information, see Section 3.8.1, Diagnosis HTML Report and Section 3.8.2, Raw Data File.

3.8.1 Diagnosis HTML Report

After Vivinet Diagnostics has located one or more potential problems with your VoIP implementation, you can print or view a report of the findings. You can create an HTML report or a comma-separated values (CSV) file from the Report view. For more information, see Section 3.8.2, Raw Data File.

The HTML report provides easy access to the highlights of the Diagnosis, along with details about how the Diagnosis was conducted.

The report summarizes the problem as you defined it, including the addresses or phone numbers of the Target Devices, presents a graphic depiction of the Path Trace it performed, and then lists and describes the probable sources of the problem.

To generate the HTML report:

In the Report view, click Report. The report is generated in HTML format so you can view it in your Web browser. You can regenerate the report at any time from a saved Diagnosis file.
To save the report while the report is open in your Internet Explorer browser window, click Save As on the File menu, and then choose one of the following options from the Save As Type list:
- Save As Web page, complete to save the Web page in its original format (.htm), including all graphics and style sheet files.
- Save As Web page, archive to save a snapshot of the current Web page in MHTML (.mht) format, including all graphics.

HINT:You can also generate the HTML report from a command-line interface on the Vivinet Diagnostics computer. Type the following at the prompt:

diagnostics.exe -h -v report -r html [name of diagnosis].dgv

3.8.2 Raw Data File

Although Vivinet Diagnostics contains expert-level information about the factors that affect VoIP call quality and performance, you cam perform your own analysis of the data the application has uncovered. If you want to independently analyze the data collected from your network during a Diagnosis, use the Raw Data file to gather data in a useful format.

When you click the Raw Data button, all of the data Vivinet Diagnostics used to create the report is exported to a text file in comma-separated values (CSV) format. Files in CSV format can be opened in Microsoft Excel.

HINT:Some spreadsheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel, may truncate the decimals in large numbers for display purposes. However, the actual full value is stored and used for calculations. If you suspect your spreadsheet is not displaying decimals, you can format the affected cells as “Numeric” and specify the number of decimal digits you want to display.

For more information, see the following topics:

Understanding the Raw Data File

The Vivinet Diagnostics Raw Data file is a comprehensive collection of data gathered during a particular Diagnosis. When you first take a look at a Raw Data file from a typical Diagnosis, you may have a few questions about some of the abbreviations used and what is included in the file.

The Raw Data file, with file extension .csv, is saved by default to the /My Documents folder on the local computer. Again by default, this file has the same filename as the Diagnosis it reflects. Open this file using a compatible spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel. It is divided into several major sections, designated by headings in all-capital letters.

The Product Information section provides version information about the Vivinet Diagnostics Console used to run the Diagnosis. Just below that is the Diagnosis Summary, with information about when the Diagnosis was run, the number of network issues it found, and any voice gateways discovered on the network.

Next is information about Diagnosis Configuration, divided into subsections:

Subsection	Description
CallManagers	Lists the IP addresses or DNS hostnames of the Cisco CallManagers you added or that were discovered by Vivinet Diagnostics.
Call Servers	Lists the IP addresses of the Nortel Call Servers involved in the Diagnosis.
Signaling Servers	Lists the IP addresses of the Nortel Signaling Servers involved in the Diagnosis.
Firewall Port	Lists the port you designated for diagnostic traffic sent between the endpoints through a firewall.
Call Script	Provides the name of the call script (codec) used and indicates how call script parameters were set. NOTE:Very infrequently, the codec indicated in the Call Script section does not match the codec identified in the Quality Stats section. The Quality Stats section identifies the codec in use in your environment. If that codec is not supported, Vivinet Diagnostics uses G.711u to drive VoIP traffic. G.711u mimics the traffic behavior of the known unsupported codecs. For more information, see Section 4.2.2, Reviewing Codecs.
QoS	Reports whether QoS was applied and what bit settings were used.
Thresholds	Shows all the thresholds configured for a Diagnosis.

The Problem Definition section lists the device type (endpoints, phones, or other — such as gateways and routers), each Target Device’s IP address or DNS hostname, the time the problem occurred, and, if endpoints were the Target Devices, the call script used for the simulated VoIP performance test traffic.

The last sections contain the Results and the Quality Stats. First, the results from VoIP performance tests are shown, including what was measured for each performance metric (MOS, R-value, Delay, Lost Data, and Jitter Buffer Loss), the severity rating of each measurement (such as “Marginal” or “Poor”), and the configured values for both Good and Marginal thresholds.

Next, the quality statistics for any Nortel devices are shown, followed by the addresses of any voice gateways discovered on the network during the Diagnosis are provided. And finally, raw results summarizing all the objects found in the path and their statistics are shown. For more information, see Field Definitions for the Raw Data File.

Within the Raw Data file, the following relationships organize the data objects you see:

The drawing shows that the Target Device Objects are treated as parents to all other object types. “Path Objects” define Path Traces that are generated whenever a Diagnosis is run and depicted graphically in the Diagnose view. They are owned by the two Target Devices whose VoIP data path they define. Numbers in the drawing above indicate the number of objects contained by each parent object. Furthermore, all Diagnoses contain 0 to N Diagnosis objects, 0 to N Stat (statistic) objects, and 0 to N Cause objects. All Cause objects must have at least one Diagnosis object.

All Vivinet Diagnostics objects, such as the two Target Devices you specified when you defined the problem on your network, are assigned an object ID number. Along with other statistics pertaining to an object, that object’s parent in the containment hierarchy is also indicated. The Target Devices are always assigned object IDs 1 and 2. So, for example, the endpoint named Device 1 (the first Target Device specified) with object ID 1 might be shown to have a parent link with object ID 5.

Field Definitions for the Raw Data File

The following table defines some of the unfamiliar fields in the Raw Data file.

For more information about what is shown in the CSV file, see the following related topics.

Field	Definition
ATM Objects	Owned by interface objects. Relevant properties are defined as follows: name—interface name hostname—interface’s IP address idx—numeric index assigned to this interface in SNMP tables physaddr—physical (MAC) address of interface state—whether object is active or inactive uptime—number of seconds the interface has been active errors—number of hardware errors that have occurred qos—Quality of Service class specified for the interface
Call Objects	A single Cisco CallManager Call Detail Record representing information about a single VoIP call. For more information, see Phone Call Details Tab.
Cause Objects	The Probable Causes of issues flagged on the network during a Diagnosis. Relevant properties are defined as follows: name—probable cause of one or more diagnoses location—IP address of device, interface, or path where issue was flagged instance—specific instance information for the flagged issue diagnoses—issues caused by or related to this cause For more information, see Probable Cause Definitions.
CCME Devices	Devices for Cisco CallManager Express, also known as Unified Communications Manager Express
CCME Phones	Phones registered to Cisco CallManager Express devices
Device Objects	A router, a voice gateway, or a switch. For more information, see Section 5.1.5, Router Properties and Section 5.1.6, Switch Properties.
Diagnosis Objects	A diagnostic response to issues flagged on the network during a Diagnosis. Relevant properties are defined as follows: severity—severity of the problem, based on the extent to which a performance metric exceeded a threshold: MAJ - Error MIN - Warning INF - Information location—IP address of device, interface, or path where issue was flagged instance—specific instance information for the flagged issue stat—name of statistic or other data that caused the issue to be flagged diagnosis—diagnosis provided by Vivinet Diagnostics causes—list of identifiers that caused (in part or whole) this diagnosis For more information, see Section 5.2.2, Interpreting the Diagnosis Table.
Ethernet Objects	An Ethernet-enabled router or switch interface owned by interface objects. Relevant properties are defined as follows: state—device sending/receiving mode, such as full-duplex or half duplex uptime—number of seconds the device has been active errors—number of hardware errors that have occurred deferred—number of packets delayed due to link activity collisions—number of packets that experienced collisions multiple—number of packets that experienced multiple collisions lost—number of packets lost due to link activity
Frame Relay Objects	Owned by interface objects. Relevant properties are defined as follows: name—DLCI (data link connection identifier) state—status of the device, such as active or invalid uptime—number of seconds the device has been active fecns—forward explicit congestion notifications becns—backward explicit congestion notifications committed—circuit committed burst excess—circuit excess burst throughput—circuit throughput
GW Call Level Objects	Statistics from the voice gateway for recent POTS call legs
GW Call Objects	Statistics from the voice gateway for active POYTS and VoIP call legs
GW Call Stat Objects	Statistics from the voice gateway for recent VoIP call legs
Interface Objects	A router or switch interface owned by a link object or a Layer 2 link (L2 link) object. It may own Ethernet objects. Relevant properties are defined as follows. idx—numeric index assigned to this interface in SNMP tables mtu—maximum transmission unit or maximum frame payload size configured for this medium speed—media speed of interface in bits/second Properties not defined here are defined in the ATM Objects definition. Other properties are stat objects and are described in Section B.0, Statistics Used in Diagnoses.
Link Objects	Defined by router interfaces. Vivinet Diagnostics finds links by running traceroute tests. The name property is derived from the resolved DNS hostname of the egress interface. For more information, see Section 5.1.2, Link Properties.
L2 Link Objects	Defined by switch interfaces functioning at Layer 2 of the OSI (Open System Interconnection) Model. Some router interfaces may also function at Layer 2. For more information, see Section 5.1.2, Link Properties.
Path Objects	Defines the Path Trace generated for a Diagnosis. Every Diagnosis has two path objects because the Path Trace can be shown from either direction between the two Target Devices. For more information, see Section 5.1, Reviewing Path Trace Components.
Phone Objects	Telephone used as Target Device in the Diagnosis. Parent of Path Objects. May be either an IP phone or a POTS phone. For more information, see Section 5.1.4, Phone Properties.
RTP Objects	Values gathered by Nortel RTCP-XR or RTCP. Relevant properties are defined as follows: far end IP addr—IP address of the destination phone local packets sent—number of RTP packets sent by the source phone remote packets sent—number of RTP packets sent by the destination phone local packets received—number of RTP packets received by the source phone remote packets received—number of RTP packets received by the destination phone local packets received out of order—number of out-of-order RTP packets received by the source phone remote packets received out of order—number of out-of-order RTP packets received by the destination phone local packet loss—number of RTP packets sent by the source phone that were not received by the destination phone remote packet loss—number of RTP packets sent by the destination phone that were not received by the source phone local avg jitter—average jitter for the source phone remove avg jitter—average jitter for the destination phone local listening R-value—call quality R-value on the source phone remote listening R-value—call quality R-value on the destination phone local latency—amount of one-way network delay, packetization delay, and jitter buffer delay on the source phone remote latency—amount of one-way network delay, packetization delay, and jitter buffer delay on the destination phone local codec—codec in place on the source phone remote codec—codec in place on the destination phone local avg net loss rate—RTCP-XR statistic used to compute lost data value for source phone. This is a raw value as reported by the phone. Divide by 256 to determine the percentage value. remote avg net loss rate—RTCP-XR statistic used to compute lost data value for destination phone. This is a raw value as reported by the phone. Divide by 256 to determine the percentage value. local avg discard rate—RTCP-XR statistic used to compute jitter buffer loss value for source phone. This is a raw value as reported by the phone. Divide by 256 to determine the percentage value.
RTP Objects	remote avg discard rate—RTCP-XR statistic used to compute jitter buffer loss value for destination phone. This is a raw value as reported by the phone. Divide by 256 to determine the percentage value. local avg burst density—RTCP-XR statistic used to compute burst density for source phone. This is a raw value as reported by the phone. Divide by 256 to determine the percentage value. remote avg burst density—RTCP-XR statistic used to compute burst density for destination phone. This is a raw value as reported by the phone. Divide by 256 to determine the percentage value. local avg burst length—average length of a burst density period on the source phone remote avg burst length—average length of a burst density period on the destination phone local gap density—percentage of packet loss during a gap period, the period of time between bursts, for the source phone. This is a raw value as reported by the phone. Divide by 256 to determine the percentage value. remote gap density—percentage of packet loss during a gap period, the period of time between bursts, for the destination phone. This is a raw value as reported by the phone. Divide by 256 to determine the percentage value. local gap length—length of a gap period for the source phone remote gap length—length of a gap period for the destination phone local avg end system delay—average system delay for the source phone. System delay is the sum of jitter buffer and codec encoding and decoding. remote avg end system delay—average system delay for the destination phone. System delay is the sum of jitter buffer and codec encoding and decoding. local avg noise level—average level of interference present at the source phone. The lower the value, the less background noise present. remote avg noise level—average level of interference present at the destination phone. The lower the value, the less background noise present. local avg signal power—average signal strength for all received packets at the source phone. The higher the value, the stronger the signal. remote avg signal power—average signal strength for all received packets at the destination phone. The higher the value, the stronger the signal. local round trip time avg—average length of time for a call to travel to the destination phone and back remote round trip time avg—average length of time for a call to travel to the source phone and back local round trip hi—maximum length of time for a call to travel to the destination phone and back remote round trip hi—maximum length of time for a call to travel to the source phone and back source ip address—IP address of the source phone source port—port number of the source phone Properties not defined here are defined in Phone Quality Stats Tab. For more information, see Section 5.3.1, Burst Density and Section 5.3.9, R-value.
Serial Objects	Represent the basic Layer 2 “serial” interfaces for certain WAN links
Stat Objects	A type of statistic gathered by Vivinet Diagnostics during a Diagnosis. Relevant properties are defined as follows: device—type of object associated with the statistic, such as “Link” for a link object or “Path” for a path object interval—number of milliseconds between samplings attempts—number of sampling attempts made completed—number of successful sampling attempts smin—smallest value sampled tmin—number of milliseconds into the polling operation that the minimum value was sampled smax—largest value sampled tmax—number of milliseconds into the polling operation that the maximum value was sampled avg—average value sampled stdv—Standard Deviation of all sampled values For more information, see Section B.0, Statistics Used in Diagnoses.
Target Objects	Devices selected as Target Devices. For more information, see Section 5.1.1, Endpoint Properties and Section 3.6, Defining the Problem (Step 1).
Traffic Class Objects	Details about the traffic classes defined on Cisco devices
Voice Analog Objects	Details about the POTS interfaces used for voice traffic
Voice Dial Peer Objects	POTS dial peer definitions for a voice gateway
Voice Digital Objects	Details about the VoIP interfaces used for voice traffic
VoIP Dial Peer Objects	VoIP dial peer definitions for a voice gateway